Finally a place that speaks English

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This one won't take that long, I hope.

What can I say about Amsterdam? Well, I guess the easiest thing to say about Amsterdam is that it is a town in a league of its own. You step off the train and it's like you've stepped back in time about 30 years. Sure it's a modern city but in an old fashioned kinda way. It's a very liberal and free-spirited town, full of liberal and free-spirited people. I suppose that's the nice way of saying it's full of "hippie-like" people who for the most part are so stoned out of their minds to have any care in the world. Whether you like it or not, any visitor to Amsterdam will be surrounded by these people who take full advantage of the fact that soft drugs are legal here.
I soon realized that hotel rooms were really expensive so I opted to stay in a hostel. At about 1/4 the price of a hotel room I was happy to share a room with 4 other guys, all of whom were either so drunk or stoned to even realize I had shown up for the night...hahaha. I guess the best way to sum up a night in the 'Dam would be to quote the fab 4 and say that it is indeed a "magical mystery tour". Anytime of day you can walk around town, enjoying the sights and sounds (and smells) all with a slight buzz going, either from the super cheap Heineken or the plumes of pot smoke whafting from the "coffee shops". I loved just walking around the canals and looking at the different type of houses. Because all the houses are so narrow, they can't fit any furniture up the staircases so everything has to go in through the windows! So to accomodate this, every house has a 'furniture hook' on the roof. If you haven't realized yet from my other blogs, I kinda have a thing for architecture 😊
It really is a nice town to walk around in. Almost every direction you go has something to admire or enjoy. At night the town comes back to life with a slightly different crowd. While all the families and younger toursits head to bed, the night owls come out and roam around, especially around the red light district. I was really amazed to see that most of the girls in the 'red' windows were surprisingly young! Definietly gives a whole new meaning to the term "window shopping"! There were women that would serve any fetish you could dream of. Amsterdam truely lives up to its reputation.
The last thing i wanna say about Amsterdam is that I was totally amazed by the number of bikes in the town! There were entire multi-tiered parking lots for bikes only! Everybody had a bike and not just any bike, but a "dutch" bike. These are the classic comfort style of bikes with the fenders and sweeping handle bars...they were everywhere! I really liked Amsterdam but its definitely a place to visit with a few friends rather then alone.

After Amsterdam, I headed of to the Hook of Holland to catch an overnight ferry to the UK. The ship was a lot more upscale then I had imagined. My cabin was probably the nicest place I have stayed in so far even if it was the smallest. It had several restaurants, lounge areas, and even a cinema! The only thing that sucked was being woken up at 5:30am to eat breakfast (which was included, and also the first real English fry-up I had) and to get ready to disembark at 6:30. I then took the train to London to jump on another train that would take me into the north of England. That is where I am now. Among family in Barrow-in-Furness and really enjoying just relaxing and not doing a whole lot. The plan for the next few days is to hopefully spend some time biking around the Lake District and visiting family.

Taaah!

Mike

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Comments

[Boo]

Nice
Wow sounds great Mike. I'm really envious of your travels. When are you coming home? Any chance of staying for a year or so? Pull some pints and keep travelling? Nothing new here. The girls and I are going to see Walking With Dinosaurs tomorrow. Should be fun. If you are coming back soon, what flight will you be on? Air Canada per chance? If so I think I can get you upgraded. Bye for now, Boo

[Craigo]

Surely I and my parents get a personal mention in this! haha! not just "among family! :P:P Hope you are having a fun time with your dad, and doing whatever you are doing! Guess I will see you in a few days! Craigo!